The study noted that teenagers drink heavily but do so infrequently -- once or twice a week. But as people grow older, their drinking shifts into a more regular frequency pattern. They drink less at each sitting, but they drink more frequently. A substantial proportion of older men in the UK drink daily or most days of the week, while a majority of women tend to drink monthly or on special occasions, the study found.

In the UK, the majority of the adult population consumes alcohol and the harm associated with alcohol affects all parts of society, according to a press release on the study. Lead author Dr. Annie Britton from University College London is quoted as saying, "Understanding how drinking behavior fluctuates throughout life is important to identify high risk groups and trends over time."

The researchers looked at both the average amount of alcohol consumed per week and the frequency of drinking. The findings were based on over 174,000 alcohol observations collected over a 34-year period, spanning from 1979 to 2013, from participants born in different eras, said the release.

While the study found that drinking patterns change more for men than women, both genders follow a similar pattern: A rapid increase in the volume of alcohol consumption during adolescence that comes to a peak in early adulthood, followed by a plateau in mid-life, and then a decline in the volume consumed in one sitting into older ages. But as men age, the frequency of their alcohol intake increases.

Earlier on HuffPost50:

7 Things Post 50s Say They're Addicted To

7 Things Post 50s Say They're Addicted To

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Cheese Puffs And Various Other Unhealthy Snacks

A handful of people cited various snack foods, especially cheese puffs or anything else that might leave a neon-orange residue on their fingers. If you absolutely must partake, at least go with the very best. Check out this taste test of 9 popular brands of cheese puffs.